The rest of North Dakota and on to Minnesota

From some unknown reason we decided to get up earlier today than yesterday. Again the alarm did not go off (not my fault this time as Miles set it). Apparently we are not smart enough to set an alarm clock properly. You would think that between the two of us we would be able to figure it out. The real problem here is that both times we thought we had mastered the thing only to find out in the morning we were wrong. This time I was awake when the alarm was supposed to go off so we got us 2 min later than planned. We would have gotten up on time (2 minutes earlier than we did) if Miles had let me sleep on the side of the bed with the alarm clock. But no...after I am already in bed and ready to go to sleep he decides that I am on his side and he pokes me until I move. I am the picky one in the relationship. I am supposed to be the one that can only sleep on a specific side and that has to have the covers, not Miles. Maybe North Dakota is the twilight zone for sleeping arrangements.

Anyway, back to the real story. The drive today was boring but went off without a hitch. The scenery in ND is lacking for sure. We passed a lot more places with "No Services" and we didn't see anything interesting.

Minnesota is definitely a step above ND. Minnesota has had only a couple of exits with no services and there were definitely signs of life even if these signs were mostly John Deere Stores. We also passed some really pretty sun flower fields.

Last night I made reservations for a place in Oakdale, not far from St. Paul, and despite the extensive road work, detours, and sign changes we managed to make it to the hotel without making one wrong turn.

Other then one truck stop where we had to wait for more than 10 minutes to get to the pump because all 4 diesel lanes were occupied by trucks with empty cabs (we think the drivers were paying for their gas or getting food) we encountered NO problems. Really...nothing went wrong. Even checking into the hotel, finding parking, and getting the Internet working went really smoothly. But, this wouldn't be a blog for Hannah and Miles if there wasn't something that went horribly askew.

So, I am on the Internet looking for the nearest Barnes and Noble because we have almost finished Harry Potter 7. We NEED more audio books. I didn't realize before we left how important HP on audio disks would be to my relationship with Miles. I think Miles is going deaf and he is currently on a Goo Goo Dolls/Blink 182/Greenday kick and he has to listen to it really loud. I actually put my purse over the speaker on my side of the truck today because I just couldn't take it any more. I like these bands, but not so loud that I think my eyes and ears might bleed (note to Sam...if this happens I will take pictures for you of my bleeding eyes and ears). If I have to spend the next three days listening to really loud music for hours one of us is not going to make it to New Jersey. This is why we need another audio book. We only have one disk of Harry Potter left.

I find a Barnes and Noble and it is really close to the hotel. It is also in a shopping center and I am hungry so decide to have dinner there also. We go out to the truck to take the car off despite the hassle (I said we NEED the new audio book) and what do you know...the lever on the car trailer that allows you to tighten the ropes over the tires, thus securing the car, has broken off. The car is currently secured to the trailer but we can't take it off the trailer because if we do we cannot get it back on.

[here is a picture of the perfectly functional winch thing. Notice the level locking the gear into place]

[Here is a picture of the broken one. Notice the lack of lever.]

I called Penske's road side assistance and they leave a msg for someone in the service department about my situation. I got a phone call about 15 minutes later telling me that someone is going to come out and assist me in the next hour. Now I am starving (it has been over an hour since I was hungry and we were going to go get food and a book). It is 6:20 and there should be someone here by 7. Now supposing they bring the right thing to fix our trailer or a replacement trailer it is still going to be to late to get an audio book and I might actually die of starvation.

I suggested to Miles that we order in food but he insists that we can't (this was a cranky insisting as he is really frustrated) because the Penske guy might show up while we are eating. I think he might regret this decision in about 20 minutes when I am passed out on the floor, whithering away...or his might be relieved that he doesn't have to deal with me now. Either way its not good for me.

Another note to Sam: There hasn't been any blood involved in today incident but I have attached a photo [below] of the next best thing. This is a picture of part of our grill. My finger is there as a size reference.